The present disclosure relates a user authentication technology for the prevention of any unauthorized access to an electronic apparatus, the electronic apparatus being configured to be shared with plural users by, for example, network connections and concurrently to store secret or confidential information pieces.
In a case where an electronic apparatus is operated in which information pieces are held that specific individuals or juridical persons stored and personal information pieces or in a case where a server that stores similar information pieces is brought into a remote read/write operation, it is requested to receive an authentication for a user who has a plan to access the electronic apparatus or the server in order for proving that the user has an authority to access the aforementioned information pieces. The most popular method for receiving an authentication is to input both a code that is indicative of a user ID (Identification) and a password (key encode) that makes a pair with the user ID.
For example, in a case of an MFP that has facsimile and server functions as well as printer and scanner functions, an input/output image that is called a UI (User Interface) appears on a screen of an indicator provided on an operation panel or on a screen of an electronic information terminal connected via an external interface.
Such an MFP is provided with a user authentication function (many MFPs have user authentication functions). When a user inputs, via the UI interface, the ID and the password, a verification is made whether or not the resulting paired ID and password are in coincidence with a pair of previously stored ID and password. If the result of the verification is true, the user is allowed to log in the MFP (the MFP is ready for operation).
In more detail, the user inputs the user ID and the password via the UI, and then if the inputted pair of the user ID and the password are determined to be in coincidence with the pair of previously stored ID and password that are previously registered for a legitimate user, a specific operation is allowed to read out, for example, information pieces (such as an image data piece obtained by scanning a manuscript) which are correlated with the user ID.
On the contrary, if the paired user ID and password is registered in the MFP, usually, the MFP causes the UI to display an error display.